


Crybaby Wizard!

by papercranberry



Category: Howl’s Moving Castle
Genre: Anime, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli, first fic, howl’s moving castle - Freeform, please help how do you tag things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-08
Updated: 2020-11-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:54:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27445192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/papercranberry/pseuds/papercranberry
Summary: you never thought you’d end up cleaning a moving castle with a fire demon, a spunky old lady, a little boy and a self absorbed wizard, but here you are!cleaning the entire castle every day makes you find rooms you’ve never seen before, especially the bathroom with it’s colourful bathtub and bottles of whatever potion the resident wizard has concocted. you *may* have touched a bottle or two, but you swore it didn’t do anything! or did it?
Kudos: 4





	Crybaby Wizard!

**Author's Note:**

> hey! thanks for checking out this fic  
> this work is based off of Hayao Miyazaki’s rendition of Howl’s Moving Castle, so anything i write here is based off of that movie.  
> au where sophie is just an old lady and you took her place!

You had been working in Howl’s castle for only a day after getting lost in the Wastes. You’re downstairs chatting with Calsifer when you hear yelling from Howl.  
“SOPHIE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! M-MY HAIR!!”  
He wails, flopping into a chair and wringing out his now fiery orange hair.  
“My, my, Howl. No need to fuss! Your bathroom was a mess and it’s about time I cleaned it up.”  
“But I’m HIDEOUS now!”  
Sophie looks at you and you splutter a word of kindness to the diva.  
“W-well, Howl, we can always dye it back, right? It looks quite good on you, why not keep it? Anyways, it’s good to change things up once in a while.”  
He obviously isn’t listening to you as you feel the room shaking and hear Calsifer panicking.  
“H-Howl, buddy, I think you’re goin’ a little too far here!”  
“Markl, what’s happening here? There’s shadows on the wall and the room is shaking!”  
You say, clinging onto Sophie.  
“Howl’s summoning the dark spirits! I saw him do this when a girl dumped him.”  
Markl exclaims, stepping back as the crybaby wizard’s hair rapidly changes colours until it fades to an ebony black. Stepping towards him as he starts sobbing, you kneel down and try to wipe away his tears but instead you’re met with green slime secreting from his skin. You stumble back and shake the slime off as Calcifer screams, the goop nearly snuffing him out.  
“I don’t see any point in living if I can’t be beautiful...”  
Howl laments, his head in his hands. Shaking her head, Sophie takes no nonsense from him. Picking him up, the both of you haul him up the stairs when you look down and see the towel he was wearing on the floor. Blushing, you call for the ginger haired boy downstairs, tending to the fire demon.  
“H-hey, Markl? Would you be a dear and get a pair of bottoms for Howl? His towel fell down...”  
You shudder, still hauling him upstairs and into the bathroom where you see Markl squeeze past you with the bottoms you asked for. Somehow smoothly slipping on the shorts, you, Sophie and Markl find hot water already in the claw foot tub, courtesy of Calcifer. Placing him in the water, the old woman winks at you and throws a brush at you, leaving you behind. Groaning, you look down at the sorry sight. He’s still slightly crying, slime flowing steadily out of his skin. Tucking his hair behind his ear, you remove his now sticky earrings and place them on the sink. Stroking his cheek, you lightly chuckle.  
“There’s no need to cry over something like this, Howl.”  
“But I look terrible! This black hair isn’t attractive at all.”  
Looking at your own black hair, you frown at him.  
“What about mine? I always see you peering at my hair when I clean. You don’t think it’s pretty?”  
Sinking lower into the water, the raven-haired man furrows his eyebrows together. Shaking your head and laughing, you stand up to get a washcloth and some face soap. Dipping the washcloth in the steamy water, you pump soap on it and begin rubbing his face of the slime. Squinting his eyes closed, Howl doesn’t seem very happy.  
“I know for a fact that if I leave you alone to clean yourself, you’ll sit in the tub for hours and then complain about the water getting too cold. Sophie left me in here with you to get all this nasty green stuff off you, so you better be grateful.”  
You say softly while freeing his face of the thick slime. Taking bobby pins from your apron, you pin his now unruly hair back.  
“There. I don’t want to spend more time washing your hair if slime is gonna coat it and it’s not good to have you hair in your face all the time.”  
“How do you know all this?”  
He says rather monotonous, not out of his mood quite yet.  
“I used to work in a beauty parlour specializing in skin care and such until I got lost in the Wastes. If I have the right ingredients, I may be able to dye your hair back at least a dirty blonde.”  
“I don’t want it if it’s not platinum. It’s not beautiful.”  
He pouts, looking away from you. Smiling, you grab the brush and Howl’s arm and begin scrubbing. You switch to the washcloth once you get to his hand, which clasps around yours. You let out a gasp, a blush forming on your cheeks.  
“You don’t think I’m ugly, do you?”  
Howl whispers, a hint of anger in his voice.  
“Hm? Of course I don’t! You’re beautiful in your own way. Now stop crying, you’re letting more slime into the water.”  
You say, rolling your eyes.  
If he cries again I’ll smack him across the face! They’re probably crocodile tears now...  
You think, sighing.  
Howl sighs, still holding onto your hand.  
After a while of scrubbing,  
re-scrubbing and convincing Howl to stop complaining over his ‘hideous hair colour’, you got to washing his hair. You ask him to turn around so his head is at the other end of the tub, where you can sit down and let him relax a little bit. Grabbing the product, you work your hands into his surprisingly thick hair. As you’re washing, you hear soft snoring coming from Howl. Giggling, you sit back and rest from your task.  
I can’t believe he fell asleep!  
You think, grabbing a basin so you can rinse his hair without waking him. After drying off his head, you creep downstairs seeing that Sophie is preparing dinner and Markl is running around in the now clean room.  
“So you finally cleaned the little brat up, huh? I’m surprised I didn’t hear any screaming!”  
Sophie laughs, tending to the food being cooked by Calcifer.  
“He actually fell asleep! It’s been a pretty long day for us so I think I’ll let him sleep longer. Where can I get him new clothes?”  
You ask, rolling down your sleeves and drying your hands off on your apron.  
Pointing to Howl’s room, Sophie doesn’t look away from the rather tasty looking food you’re to be eating tonight. Walking back up the stairs, they squeak like mice every step you take. Reaching his room, it’s an absolute mess as the only distinguishable thing is his bed with a pile of clothes neatly folded. Taking them under your arm, you go back downstairs and grab his soaked and sticky towel. Putting it in your other hand, you saunter upstairs, tired from all the trips you’ve taken. Going back into the bathroom, you see that Howl has woken up.  
“Good morning, sleepyhead! I’ve brought you clean clothes so you better not get them dirty. There’s a towel on the side of the door if you need it.”  
Grabbing the basin and filling it from the sink, you go outside and back downstairs again and sit on the floor and begin washing the slime infused towel.  
“Hey, Y/N! Where’s Howl?” Markl asks, sitting down beside you.  
“He’s still in the bathroom dressing up, but he should be downstairs any minute.”  
“Oh. Well, what are you doing?”  
“Cleaning the towel that he soaked in that slime. It took me so long to wash his body because he wouldn’t stop pouting! How do you deal with him as an apprentice?”  
You sigh, exasperated.  
“Well, Master Howl is a great wizard who teaches me magic, but it’s easy to deal with him when nothing happens. Sometimes he’s gone for days on end supervising the future!”  
Markl says proudly.  
You stop washing the towel as you hear an ‘ow’ from the bathroom.  
“You better check up on him, Y/N, sounds like he fell down.”  
Calcifer says, peering over the side of the pan above him. Nodding, you make your way to the bathroom. Opening the door, you find Howl attempting to brush his hair with his fingers? Rubbing your temples, you yank away his hand and replace it with a proper comb. Sitting him down on the side of the tub, you comb through the tangled mess he used to call his ‘most prized body part’.  
“I can’t believe you had a whole tantrum which forced me to give you a bath like a child for an hour, then apparently you don’t know how to brush your hair?! Sophie spent time cleaning the floor, the hearth and the stairs then started cooking dinner!”  
You exclaim, exhausted by his antics.  
“I just assumed as long as my hair wasn’t tangled it was fine.”  
He says in a sort of princely tone. Lightly smacking him on the arm was something you should’ve done earlier, but realized now it was a mistake. You feel your arm freeze up and you’re now unable to move it.  
“H-hey, what did you do to my arm? See, Howl, I’m trying to help you through something you should’ve done by yourself and all you’re doing is whining!”  
Shoving the comb in his hands, you stomp out and into the pouring rain. Slumping down beside the castle, you try to move your arm slowly as you begin to be able to feel. You knew this wasn’t something to cry over but you couldn’t help it; both you and Sophie work your hardest each day to cater to mainly Howl’s needs as he may disappear for days on end leaving the castle a mess. He’s naturally a vain person and may let things get out of hand, but in this situation you were like a mother to him.  
Don’t you want that? You’re a caring person by nature, but why are you upset?  
You’re crying and crying in the rain, leaned against one of the feet of the castle, rain pattering against your feet. Tears stream down your cheeks, slightly burning the dry skin you could never really cure. Shutting your eyes for a while, you feel a tap on your side. Looking to where you were tapped you see a scarecrow with a turnip as his head. Wiping your tears you see it bouncing around and somehow holding an umbrella.  
“Hello there. Are you Turnip-head? Sophie mentioned you once.”  
It bounced in reply to your question, dropping the umbrella to your feet. Picking it up, you smile at it, grateful for the gesture.  
“Thank you, Turnip-head. Aren’t you sad that you come inside? You must be so cold and wet all the time.  
I think I might go back now, keep the umbrella though!” Standing up, you brush off the water and go back inside where Markl is waiting for you.  
“Y/N! There you are, Howl’s been looking for you. He’s upstairs!”  
Nodding, you walk upstairs and find Howl sitting on the bathroom floor.  
“Oh, you’re back. Did I anger you, Y/N?”  
The wizard asks, solemn.  
“W-well, yes. It was quite frustrating having to care for you like a mother... You could’ve done this by yourself, y’know!”  
You exclaim, pink tinting his cheeks.  
“I’m sorry. I just care very much how I look and sometimes it consumes my day. I apologize for making you upset.”  
Howl smiles, standing up. Taking your hand, he brings it to his lips and plants a kiss on your fingers. You turn tomato red at the gesture but quickly shake the feeling.  
“C-C’mon, Sophie’s food is gonna get cold...”  
Walking downstairs he takes your hand in his, earning yet another blush from you. Rushing downstairs you sit beside Markl who looks happy that Howl has returned.  
“Good evening, everyone. I apologize for my absence.”  
“Yes, yes, Howl. You took so long! My food might be cold.”  
Sophie says, spooning out soup. The meal went on with laughter and stories, Calcifer listening in on the conversation from the hearth. Once everyone is in bed after dinner, you begin cleaning up with Howl’s help.  
“T-thank you, Howl.”  
You say, sitting down beside the hearth, a sleeping fire demon crackling every so often.  
“Of course, Y/N. This is the least I could do after today. Would you like anything else from me?”  
He asks, his black hair tucked behind his ear.  
“Hmm... Maybe clean up the chair? I didn’t have any time to clean it up today and I don’t want to leave it for tomorrow.”  
Nodding, Howl waves his finger and the green slime dissolves into a pretty bouquet of wildflowers. Handing them to you, Howl smiles. You turn pink at the gesture and look away, grabbing a vase and filling it with water. Popping the stems in the vase, you fix them where you can see them; not too near nor far to the hearth.  
“Well, goodnight. Sleep well. Thanks for the flowers, they’re really pretty!”  
You say, smiling at him. Suddenly, you’re embraced by Howl, his hands intertwined in your hair. Your breath hitched, your body tense at the sudden movement.  
“The future holds something unfortunate and I hope to spend the rest of our time with you.”  
He says, holding you tight.  
Slowly wrapping your arms around him, you respond.  
“I... I hope so too, Howl.”  
You whisper, head on his shoulder. You two stand there for a while when you feel a pair of lips on your head, and the feeling of a cold silhouette hugging you is left. Looking around you see no sign of Howl, just a feeling of sadness at being left too soon. Looking to the hearth you see Calcifer waking up, his eyes opening to the sight of your petite frame slightly shaking.  
“Hm? Y/n, why are you still awake? And just... standing there too.”  
“Calcifer, where did Howl go? He was just here with me and, suddenly he’s gone.”  
You whisper, now worried.  
“Don’t fret, he’s just off doing business. Today was something of a rest for him, so thanks for letting my buddy rest.”  
“O-oh. Well, have a nice night, Calcifer. Thanks for telling me.”  
You say, flashing a worried smile at him. Throwing on your covers as you lie down on your mattress, you sigh, thinking of Howl.  
“You like him, don’t you? Well, Howl’s gonna find out one way or another about your feelings so I’m gonna tell you something about him.”  
You perk up and look at the fire demon at this statement.  
“He likes you too. A whole bunch. Howl was telling me late last night that you were the most beautiful girl he had ever seen! Consider that a complement from the world’s most vain person.”  
“I-I... wow. Wait, how did you know I like Howl?!”  
You exclaim, flustered. Calcifer flashes you a fiery smile and retreats into the firewood. Sighing, you giggle, melting into your covers.  
Does he really like me? I mean... there’s always the rumour he eats girl’s hearts...  
No! I’m gonna hold onto that hope because I love him!  
Drifting off to sleep to the sound of crackling fire and a familiar touch on your cheek, you travel to dreamland with a smile on your face.  
—  
“Calcifer, isn’t she just beautiful?”  
“Pshh. You’re in love again, aren’t you? Well, I’ll let you in on a secret; she adores you too!”  
Howl is taken aback at this statement, eyes wide.  
“Don’t break her heart, okay? She really, really likes you, so at least make an effort to show some interest, alright?”  
His face cracks, a blush starting to appear on his face. Shaking his head, Howl strides up to his room and flops down on his bed, still slightly shocked at your shared feelings.  
What a lovely surprise!


End file.
